[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

BurmaNet News: April 13, 2001



______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
        An on-line newspaper covering Burma 
         April 13, 2001   Issue # 1778
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________

NOTED IN PASSING: 
(1) ?Despite some outsiders' optimism, there is little hard evidence yet 
that Myanmar's clumsy dictators are relaxing.?  

The Economist.  See The Economist: Wary still 

(2) ?The world's biggest heroin dealer is not a gangster, but a 
government.?  

The Daily Record on the SPDC.  See  Daily Record (Scotland): The Heroin 
Army;   Burma's Vicious Generals Claim to Fight Drug Trade. But They 
Stand Accused of Being Pushers to Half the World 

INSIDE BURMA _______
*The Economist: Wary still 
*Daily Record (Scotland): The Heroin Army;   Burma's Vicious Generals 
Claim to Fight Drug Trade. But They Stand Accused of Being Pushers to 
Half the World 
*Deutsche Presse-Agentur : Myanmar issues disciplinary rules for water 
festival

REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*Far Eastern Economic Review: Nasty Job for Task Force 399
*Times of India: From Bangalore to Burma: On an elephant trail 
*Kyodo: EU submits Myanmar resolution to U.N. human rights commission

ECONOMY/BUSINESS _______
*Myanmar Times: Secretary-1 urges patriotism in business as traders meet 
in Yangon

OPINION/EDITORIALS_______
*Irrawaddy: A Proposal to Khin Nyunt

FEATURE______
*Irrawaddy: Stealing Heaven?s Thunder
	


__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________




The Economist: Wary still 


April 14, 2001


"LESSONS from history teach us to act with caution for ever. National 
independence can be lost again with one ill-considered blunder." Thus 
spoke Senior General Than Shwe, top dog in Myanmar's ruling military 
council, in a rare public pronouncement last month. He was celebrating 
the annual armed-forces day at the country's famous Shwedagon pagoda in 
Yangon, the capital. Hasty political reform would bring only chaos, he 
said. Instead, he claimed, the country enjoys a careful, steady 
transition to democracy. 

Treat that view with the caution the general so favours. Despite some 
outsiders' optimism, there is little hard evidence yet that Myanmar's 
clumsy dictators are relaxing. After several decades in power, the junta 
has achieved little, except to repress democratic parties. Myanmar 
(formerly Burma) was once one of Asia's most promising economies, 
blessed with natural resources and an educated people. Now it ranks 
alongside African basketcases. Hundreds of thousands of its people have 
fled. In 1990, when they were last allowed near a ballot-box, the voters 
unambiguously opted for the main opposition party, the National League 
for Democracy. The junta annulled the election and cracked down on the 
NLD. 

The hope is that some in the junta--a better educated, more aristocratic 
faction--may be willing to try a different route. A few political 
prisoners have been released. Aung San Suu Kyi, a leader in the NLD 
whose virtual house-arrest in Yangon was made even tighter than usual 
last September after a public stand-off with the police, has been 
granted regular talks with the government in the past few months. The 
nature of the discussions are unknown even to close NLD supporters, let 
alone to smaller, ethnically-based opposition parties. "We fully support 
them, but they must remember this dialogue is for the whole country," 
says Maung Maung Aye, of the National Coalition Government of the Union 
of Burma, an umbrella opposition group. 

Just as talks are starting inside the country, outside mediators are 
finding more luck too. The United Nations' special representative for 
Myanmar, Razali Ismail, who is Malaysian, has been able to generate 
lukewarm relations with the junta. His success probably owes something 
to Myanmar's readiness to see Malaysia as an ally against western 
criticism. Eager to discern improvements, a group of European Union 
delegates muttered hopes for change after a visit in February. Even the 
envoy of the UN's human-rights office, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, a 
Brazilian, was able to visit Yangon last week. The first member of that 
office to be admitted in five years, he was given permission to see Miss 
Suu Kyi, who is said to be healthy, isolated and, no surprise, 
well-rested. 

All this adds up to a case for "cautious optimism", said Mr Pinheiro 
after his trip. But behind the scenes there is scepticism. Some suspect 
that reports about the talks with the NLD are not being made public 
because diehards in the junta do not support them. These are careerists 
who have risen through the ranks and are stirring up clashes with 
Thailand's army on the shared border. They may be testing Thailand's new 
prime minister to see how he responds to the pressure, or they may think 
that a bit of fighting strengthens the army at home. Either way, real 
change will come only when these men are convinced it is needed. And for 
them, remember, caution lasts forever. 



___________________________________________________




Daily Record (Scotland): the Heroin Army;   Burma's Vicious Generals 
Claim to Fight Drug Trade. But They Stand Accused of Being Pushers to 
Half the World 

April 12, 2001, Thursday 

Vivienne Aitken 


THE world's biggest heroin dealer is not a gangster, but a government. 

When a Scot injects the drug, it's a fair bet that a member of the 
military junta in Burma makes a killing. 

Burma's generals tell the world they are fighting heroin. But at the 
same time, the Asian pariah state produces HALF the world's supply of 
the drug. 

Many believe the military do not just turn a blind eye to the trade. 
They stand accused of controlling it and profiting from it. 

One farmer told how officials from the junta ordered him and his 
neighbours to stop growing rice and plant opium poppies, the source of 
heroin, instead. 

The military then taxed their crop and took away the harvest. 

One local chief who complained about a general's involvement in heroin 
was tortured for 56 days. 

He was held upside down with an electric wire attached to his private 
parts. The general himself took charge. 

Burma trumpets its "war on drugs" by ceremonially torching opium fields. 
But a farmer who has seen such displays said: "They select the poorest 
harvest to burn. The rest remains and the tax is collected." 

Army officers in neighbouring Thailand laugh at Burma's pretence. One 
said: "The junta is two-faced and lies. Burma is the only place in the 
world where the government runs a narcotics business." 

Foreign Secretary Robin Cook has accused Burma of colluding in the 
heroin trade. 

Burma's heroin king is named as "businessman" Lo Sing Han. He has a 
string of companies in capital Rangoon, all believed to be built on drug 
money. 

For one firm, a plastic bag factory, Lo imports tons of a chemical also 
used to turn opium into heroin. America calls him a "narco-terrorist". 

Observers say Lo, and many others, bribe the generals to help their 
businesses. Soldiers serve as bodyguards for Lo, and his son's wedding 
in 1995 attracted five cabinet ministers and three other generals. 

The junta does not make it difficult to smuggle heroin into Thailand or 
China. 

>From there, it moves on to our communities, often through the US. The 
other heroin route out of Burma is through India, into Iran and up 
through the Balkans into Eastern Europe before following the path 
through Holland or France to Britain. 

Burma has become even more vital to the trade since Afghanistan's 
Taliban regime declared heroin "un-Islamic" and burned most of the 
country's poppy fields. 

"China White" heroin from Burma is far more likely to be injected than 
"Afghan Brown", which is often smoked. That puts users at risk of AIDS 
and hepatitis. 

Generals have run Burma, a former British colony, since just after the 
democratic opposition won elections in 1990. 

The country has a horrific human rights record. There are 1700 political 
prisoners and the junta uses forced labour and censorship to terrorise 
its own people. 

But perhaps its greatest crime is poisoning the rest of the planet with 
heroin. 

___________________________________________________




Deutsche Presse-Agentur : Myanmar issues disciplinary rules for water 
festival 

Yangon 

April 12, 2001


Myanmar's military rulers issued strict new regulations Thursday to 
ensure that this year's Thingyan, or "water festival," does not get out 
of hand. 

State regulations for the festival, celebrated in many Asian countries 
to mark the peak of the dry season and often tinged with spirited water 
fights, were announced by all state-run media outlets. 

"Vehicles must not be driven as if in a race," said the motor vehicle 
discipline enforcement committee. "Motorcycles must not remove their 
silencers. Vehicle plate numbers must be genuine. Vehicle doors must not 
be removed." 

"The state flag of any country must not be flown on cars," media said. 
"Drastic action will be taken against anyone who breaches the rules." 

The regulations stated that those caught throwing ice packets or soapy 
water from gas cans would be imprisoned for three years, while the 
sellers of either would be imprisoned for five years, the Yangon 
Division of Peace and Development Council warned through the media. 

Those possessing either the ice packs or filled gas cans would be 
imprisoned for one year, according to the council. 

The water festival is celebrated throughout most of Asia and dates back 
to ancient Brahman times.



___________________________________________________




Times of India: From Bangalore to Burma: On an elephant trail 

April 12, 2001

By Kanak Hirani

BANGALORE: Just 12 km from the Burma border a great discovery has been 
made. A foundation that works for the cause of elephants, Ane Mane, has 
managed to trace a migratory route for elephants between India and 
Burma.

While the search for this route -- almost the size of a highway -- has 
been made into a film by this NGO, a report with the findings will soon 
be out and will be presented to the principal chief conservator of 
forests, the government and Project Elephant.

While Ane Mane has been working with elephants for the last seven years, 
it was only on this trip that Ruchika joined them. And the 
Bangalore-based, documentary filmmaker can't stop talking about the 
learning experience.

"I met the people from Ane Mane a year ago while I was still with 
Channel [V] and I told them I would get in touch with them. When they 
mailed me about their trip to Nampong, I said yes," Ruchika says. This 
excitement kept building up till they actually managed to reach the 
elephants.

"It was so hard to get to them. Foreigners can't get into Arunachal 
Pradesh without an inner line permit and our cameraman, Phillipe Gautier 
needed to get his extended. So we kept walking to the office for this," 
she explains.

The motive for this journey was definite. "Until 100 years ago, 
elephants would migrate from Vietnam and Thailand to India. There was a 
living corridor until 100 years ago, but these passages were blocked by 
settlers. We were trying to see if there was any movement across the 
hills and if a route still exists. And we found it!" she exclaims.

The team that went from Ane Mane took along with them three tame 
elephants and a mahout -- Mujeeb Khan. "We took along tame elephants 
because we were looking for the route they take. With their help, we 
found a small herd of 15 elephants that we tracked and we also got an 
indication of what the elephants eat," she explains.

The team was 15 hours behind the herd and caught glimpses of places 
where they had slept or had played in. "Earlier these elephants would 
interbreed, but now gene pools have been formed. Our report, which we 
will give the government, will help protect the areas in which the 
elephants are," says Ruchika, adding, "Elephants have been such an 
integral part of our Indian culture."

The Ane Mane team also met tribals, hunters, government officials during 
their journey. Says Ruchika, "Each of these people love the animal in 
their own way and for their own reasons. It was hard. I lost weight but 
I also gained perspective."






___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
				



Far Eastern Economic Review: Nasty Job for Task Force 399

U.S. Special Forces are about to join Thailand's war on drugs from 
Burma; a tense border and geopolitical pressures complicate their 
mission




By Rodney Tasker/BANGKOK and Bertil Lintner/CHIANG MAI

Issue cover-dated April 19, 2001



THEY'RE NOT related but the timing may be a bad portent. As Beijing and 
Washington wrangle over a U.S. spy plane, U.S. troops are starting to 
move into northern Thailand relatively close to the Chinese border. The 
vast majority are preparing for the annual Thai-U.S. Cobra Gold military 
exercises in May. But some U.S. Special Forces in the same area are more 
stealthily joining what will be known as Task Force 399. 

Some 5,000 U.S. troops will come to Thailand to take part in Cobra 
Gold--the biggest joint U.S. military exercise in Asia this year--and a 
handful will stay to join the war on drugs. The U.S. military has 
mounted low-level military training missions in Thailand under a 
programme called Baker Torch for several years. But the new, more 
secretive Task Force 399 involvement will be its most important in the 
kingdom.

The task force's goal is to stem an enormous flow of drugs, particularly 
methamphetamines, smuggled from Burma into Thailand. About 20 U.S. 
soldiers from the 1st Special Forces Group serving as instructors will 
join 100 Thai Special Forces men, two infantry companies of about 100 
men each and 100 Border Patrol Police to make up the task force, 
according to senior Thai and foreign security officials. Once in place, 
the U.S. Special Forces will be nearly 200 kilometres by road from the 
Chinese border.

The U.S. instructors will officially start operating with the 3rd Army 
in May and join the task force in October. The cross-border flood of 
methamphetamines, mainly from laboratories in areas controlled by the Wa 
ethnic minority in Burma's Shan state, has reached a crisis point for 
the Thais. Up to 800 million tablets are expected to inundate Thailand 
this year. Concern at how fast this is undermining society in an old 
U.S. ally prompted the Americans to act, says a Western diplomat.

The 15,000-strong United Wa State Army, which is aligned with Rangoon, 
is accused by Thai anti-narcotics agencies of being the chief maker of 
the methamphetamine tablets. At the same time, tension is high on the 
Thai-Burmese border following a clash near the border town of Mae Sai in 
February in which dozens of Burmese troops were killed. As one 
Bangkok-based foreign intelligence official says, the mission for the 
United States is "a high-risk game, given fragile Thai-Burma relations 
on the border."

It is also a gamble given similar, but much larger and still growing, 
U.S. military involvement to stamp out drugs production in Colombia. 
Critics in the U.S. Congress are warning the United States could be 
sucked into a bloody civil war there if U.S. troops are gradually drawn 
into battle with narco-guerrillas. There is no such civil war in 
Thailand, but just across its borders are both sensitive Burma and 
China--Rangoon's only major ally and is its main arms supplier.

The Wa are equipped with Chinese weapons, and are helping Beijing build 
a road network through Burma to the Burmese coast. China deals with the 
Wa because they are the dominant ethnic force in northeast Burma. Most 
recently, Thai intelligence officials say the Wa acquired sophisticated 
HN-5N surface-to-air missiles from China. They may have come from the 
black market, but for the arms to reach Burma, officials in China must, 
at very least, have turned a blind eye.

Task Force 399 is supposed to confront drug traffickers in Thailand only 
and the U.S. Special Forces will only be instructors. Leadership of 
anti-narcotics operations was taken from the police and given to the 
northern-based 3rd Army by former Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai in 
October 1998. The U.S. component adds to the Thai military's role on the 
frontline of what is Thailand's biggest national security problem.

Thai officials say the Americans are keen to stop the Wa manufacturing 
and smuggling drugs--though Task Force 399 will be based in Thailand, at 
Mae Rim village, just north of the major town of Chiang Mai.

Senior Thai officers and U.S. officials are reluctant even to confirm 
the existence of the task force. The Americans only stress their role in 
training the 3rd Army, and that the task force will help interdict drug 
traffickers inside Thailand. Thai security officials say the force will 
have the latest night-vision and radar equipment, backed by two 
American-made Black Hawk helicopters.

In October the three-year mandate given to the army by Chuan expires. It 
is unclear what will happen to anti-drugs operations under new Prime 
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. But the new U.S. role worries some of the 
more nationalistic in the Thai military. "This is raising some concern 
among progressive ranking officers," says Panitan Wattanayagorn, a 
Chulalongkorn University military affairs scholar and former security 
adviser to Chuan. "They are not too happy. They also know this is not a 
war that can be easily fought."

MUDDY BORDER SITUATION
Maj.-Gen. Anu Sumitra, the 3rd Army intelligence chief, says the task 
force will not confront Burmese troops but will stay on the Thai side of 
the border. Even with such assurances, Panitan warns: "There is an 
increasing risk of confrontation, but both sides stand to lose from 
confrontation. The government must not make the Burmese feel we are 
representing the West."

At an April 4 news conference following a meeting in Burma of the 
Regional Border Committee, Lt.-Gen. Wattanachai Chaimuanwong, the 3rd 
Army's commander, appeared pleased that Burmese generals, whom he had 
repeatedly criticized for alleged involvement in the drug trade, were 
now being cooperative. He quoted the Burmese as promising to destroy 
drug laboratories identified by the Thais and to allow verification of 
the destruction by "unbiased" media.

Was Wattanachai only reflecting the position of new Defence Minister 
Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, who boasts of his good relations with the Burmese 
military junta? A senior army officer involved in the talks says 
Wattanachai was sincere. "I think the Burmese have their internal 
problems, including a poor economy, and the border drugs situation has 
become common knowledge so they need friends--particularly the Thais," 
the officer says. By internal problems, he is referring to the power 
struggle between Burmese army commander Gen. Maung Aye and the junta's 
first secretary, Lt.-Gen. Khin Nyunt. Whether this will affect the task 
force's future and the Thai army's anti-drug operations remains to be 
seen. Says Panitan: "I think academics and the media know the situation 
well, and are watching Chavalit closely."

The Thai military has a list of about 60 drug laboratories, mainly 
controlled by the Wa, in Burma. A day after his return Wattanachai 
cheekily sent the Burmese the locations of three such sites, though 
observers think it inconceivable that Rangoon doesn't know where the 
labs are. Thai officers say that Khin Nyunt is particularly close to the 
Wa. In contrast, Wattanachai told the REVIEW in December, "Maung Aye 
despises the Wa."

Senior Thai military officers say they believe Maung Aye is wary of Khin 
Nyunt's influence over the Wa army. They say Maung Aye recently sent 
light infantry into eastern Shan state--both as a show of force against 
the Thais and to undermine Khin Nyunt's power base. The officers say 
that the move is also viewed as an attempt to contain the Wa fighters, 
whom Maung Aye would dearly like to disarm.

Beijing, meanwhile, agreed in March to a Thai proposal that China, 
Thailand and Burma cooperate against drug trafficking. Thai senior 
security officials have said that Chinese officials in Burma helped 
resettle tens of thousands of Wa from the northern border with China to 
the southern border with Thailand. They said the Chinese apparently 
wanted to move the drug problem away from their back door. The officials 
suspect that by joining Rangoon and Bangkok, the Chinese hope to keep a 
closer eye on what the U.S. military is up to in northern Thailand.

It's shaping into a muddy border situation. As a Western intelligence 
official puts it, the drug-trafficking Wa are confronted by Thai troops 
on the border, soon to be backed by U.S. instructors; they are opposed 
by Maung Aye, supported by Khin Nyunt, and apparently armed by the 
Chinese--who now want to be part of a tripartite anti-drug effort. Says 
the official: "If not handled properly, this could be even messier than 
Colombia."
 


___________________________________________________




Kyodo: EU submits Myanmar resolution to U.N. human rights commission


GENEVA April 12 Kyodo - The European Union on Thursday demanded freedom 
of movement for opposition leaders in Myanmar, including Nobel laureate 
Aung San Suu Kyi, and criticized the human rights record of the military 
government in Yangon. 
An EU draft resolution submitted to the United Nations Human Rights 
Commission currently meeting in Geneva, called on the Myanmar government 
to release political prisoners and those detained in ''government guest 
houses'' and to permit ''unrestricted communication with and physical 
access'' to Suu Kyi and other political leaders. 

It noted that human rights violations such as ''extrajudicial, summary 
or arbitrary executions, enforced disappearances, rape, torture, inhuman 
treatment, mass arrests'' have continued in Myanmar. 

Such human rights abuses have had ''a significant adverse effect on the 
health and welfare of the people of Myanmar,'' the draft said. 

The EU also said the Myanmar government ''has failed to cease its 
widespread and systematic use of forced labor of its own people'' and 
called on the country's military rulers to cooperate with the 
International Labor Organization, which imposed sanctions on Myanmar 
last year. 

''Concrete legislative, executive and administrative measures to 
eradicate the practice'' of forced labor should be adopted, the draft 
resolution said. 

U.N. sources said the draft resolution is scheduled to be taken up by 
the human rights commission on Wednesday. 

At a meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Commission on Thursday, Chinese 
exiled dissident Wei Jingshen, who currently lives in the United States, 
was given time allocated to an Italian non-governmental organization to 
make a speech. 

Wei criticized authorities in Beijing for corruption and called for 
legal reforms to upgrade the standing of ordinary citizens in China. 





_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
 

 
Myanmar Times: Secretary-1 urges patriotism in business as traders meet 
in Yangon

[Editor's Note--The Myanmar Times maintains it is not controlled by the 
regime
but credible news accounts indicate that, at a minimum, it reflects the 
views of Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt.]

SECRETARY-1 of the State Peace and Development Council, Lt-Gen Khin 
Nyunt, has asked Myanmar traders to maintain a patriotic outlook and 
work for the interests of the nation, and cautioned them against 
reliance on imported goods.Contemporary Myanmar entrepreneurs should 
adopt the attitude of their predecessors circa 1919, who held the motto 
that ?only when the economy is strong, can nationalistic spirit be 
strong?, he said.Speaking at the tenth Annual General Meeting of the 
Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry at 
Traders Hotel, Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt urged delegates to support moves 
against the import of goods which were not in the population?s best 
interests.

?For example, monosodium glutamate (MSG), a wide range of drugs and 
energy drinks can be harmful to the people?s health,? he said.In another 
development at the meeting, Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt confirmed the chamber had 
been authorised to establish a website to promote contact with foreign 
organisations ?thereby leading to e-commerce?, he said.The UMFCCI has 
become a member of the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce as 
well as that of the ASEAN Chamber of Commerce and Industry.President U 
Win Myint said the chamber was already receiving ?technical advice, 
business information etc from such international organisations?.The 
chamber?s AGM reported a steady increase in its ranks, with numbers 
swelling from 8,302 last year to 9,362.But U Win Myint told the meeting 
there was still room for the chamber to grow.?In fact, the membership 
represents only 26 per cent of the entire mass of traders of the 
country,? he said.?We still need to get the message through to people 
about how the chamber can serve them.?

U Win Myint was re-elected at the meeting, along with vice-president U 
Htein Win, general secretary U Zaw Min Win (formerly secretary general), 
joint secretary-1 U Pyone Maung Maung and joint secretary-2 Dr Maung 
Maung Lay, an existing executive committee member who was elected to 
this position for the first time.The body has 20 central executive 
committee members and 40 executive committee members.?With the 
introduction of a business information unit and membership database 
management system, we can now spread business information in the form of 
business letters including price lists and news of what is going on in 
the business world at home and abroad,? U Win Myint said.?Such 
information is valuable for traders. In this information age, they 
should have up-to-the minute information as much and as quickly as 
possible.?U Win Myint said the chamber had, over the past two years, 
organised the third joint meeting of the Myanmar and Japan chambers of 
commerce?s business cooperation committees and the 56th ASEAN Chamber of 
Commerce and Industry meeting, ?and many others in Myanmar?.

 
President U Win Myint 
As a service provider, the chamber is responsible for issuing 
Certificates of the Country of Origin for export goods, from which it 
raises some funds.Its plans for the new year include using those funds 
to build its new headquarters ? if additional resources can be found. 
The originally anticipated cost of the new, 12-storey building has blown 
out eight-fold to more than K50 million and the chamber is now looking 
for donors. Traders told Myanmar Times after the meeting, in response to 
the Secretary-1?s comments, that the roll back of border trade would not 
seriously affect them.?Even if the bilateral trade was totally 
prohibited, there would be no serious matter at the national level,? 
said one trader.?Trade between Thai and Myanmar is only a part of the 
overall border trade.?Another said price rises would be an issue, but 
that locally-made products or those imported from alternate sources 
?would gradually substitute them?. 

?Here, one of the issues is that we need better incentives from the 
government, such as in tariff and infrastructure facilities,? he added. 
The chamber and independent traders have been applying for tax 
reductions since 1999 in a bid to make locally-produced goods more 
affordable. Another issue cited by the businessmen is communication 
facilities, including the cost of telephone connections and subsequent 
low rate of usage. 
 
  

_______________OPINION/EDITORIALS_________________



Irrawaddy: A Proposal to Khin Nyunt

March-April, 2001

It was completely pathetic to hear Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt?s recent speech in 
which he claimed that "press freedom" is being granted to an 
"appropriate degree" in Burma, even though his government is a military 
regime. His statement revealed once again that the feared intelligence 
chief is completely deluded, either about the existing press situation 
in the country, or about the gullibility of Burma?s reading public. 

The truth is that press freedom has been non-existent in Burma for 
decades. Real journalists in Burma seldom receive international 
recognition for the excellence of their work, but rather for the number 
of years they are prepared to spend in prison for defending the 
principles of their profession. The latest honor to be bestowed upon a 
Burmese journalist is the prestigious Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom 
Prize, given to 70-year-old veteran journalist U Win Tin by the United 
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Sadly, the 
award is less a reflection on his long and distinguished career than an 
acknowledgement of the persecution he has borne for more than a decade 
since his arrest and imprisonment in 1989. To speak of press freedom in 
a country where men and women of his stature are severely mistreated for 
speaking their minds is an affront to the intelligence of people 
everywhere. 

By the latest estimate, at least 20 reporters remain behind bars in 
Burma, earning the country the dubious distinction of being the region?s 
"press enemy number one." Contrary to official claims, these journalists 
are not terrorists hell-bent on destabilizing their country; they are 
dedicated individuals intent on keeping their fellow citizens informed. 

Khin Nyunt and his cohorts would have the world believe that Burma is 
changing. And yet, the country remains subject to a virtual news 
blackout, with the state-run media serving only to obscure issues. 
According to a recent joint research study conducted by the Philippines 
Centre for Investigative Journalists and the Bangkok-based Southeast 
Asian Press Alliance, "Burma stands out as a country where virtually no 
reliable information is available to anyone."

If Khin Nyunt is sincere about upgrading the quality of Burmese 
journalism, the first step he can take is the immediate removal of all 
restrictions on the press. He must also guarantee that the right of all 
practicing journalists to investigate and report on issues of importance 
to Burmese will be respected. Only then will Burma return to conditions 
that prevailed during an earlier era of press respectability, when the 
country was distinguished in the region for the vitality and integrity 
of its journalism. 

Unfortunately, every sign to date suggests that the "improvements" the 
general has in mind are purely superficial. The introduction of a 
Burmese-language version of The Myanmar Times, a weekly newspaper that 
has been around for about a year now, promises little in the way of 
substance. While the state-run press in Burma states matter-of-factly 
that The Irrawaddy is a CIA-backed publication, it is no secret that The 
Myanmar Times is closely connected with Burma?s military intelligence 
establishment. The charges against The Irrawaddy are patently absurd, 
but they may make perfectly good sense in a country where the media is 
gripped by the conspiratorial mindset of a group of paranoid generals 
who have no qualms whatsoever about substituting blatant lies for simple 
facts.

Sadly, there is no shortage of models around the region for the sort of 
press Khin Nyunt would like to create in Burma. Singapore and Malaysia 
immediately come to mind as places where the sophistication of the local 
media belies its role as a provider of state propaganda. Stifling 
dissenting voices has become a fine art in these countries, which have 
also been notable for their willingness to turn a blind eye to the 
Burmese junta?s worst abuses for the sake of trade deals. With friends 
like these in the region, the Burmese people certainly don?t need 
enemies.

The Burmese authorities must do more than end their media attacks on the 
opposition; they must allow the opposition equal access to the press, 
and let the Burmese people decide for themselves who they can believe.



_____________________FEATURE_____________________



Irrawaddy: Stealing Heaven?s Thunder

The descent of the Celestial King during the Burmese New Year has been 
eclipsed by the ambitions of generals who believe they will be rewarded 
for their deeds here on Earth.




by Min Zin

SWISH! Thagyamin, King of the Celestials, comes down to the Earth. The 
Burmese people believe that at this very moment the New Year Festival 
begins. Yes, the New Year in Burma marks the annual visitation of 
Thagyamin to the abode of human beings. The New Year Festival, Thingyan 
or Thingyan Pwe, is not, strictly speaking, a religious event, and is 
not determined by the phases of the moon like the other twelve-month 
festivals that are linked to the lunar calendar. In fact, the word 
Thingyan is derived from the Sanskrit word Sankranta, meaning 
"changeover" or "transfer". From the astrological point of view, it 
denotes the shift of the sun from one sign of the zodiac to another, and 
in this case specifically from Pisces to Aries.

The Thingyan festival was invented by ancient Ponnas or Brahmins who 
were versed in judicial astrology, in which almost all Burmese place 
implicit faith. According to an early stone inscription found in the Saw 
Hla Wun Pagoda in Pagan, it was not until the Pagan Era that the 
Thingyan was celebrated for the first time in Burma. Thai scholars? 
research seems to support this. When they traced the historical origin 
of the Thai New Year (Songkran), they found that the Water Festival and 
related ceremonies had been diffused to Thailand through Burmese 
influence, during the reign of King Anuruddha the Great of Pagan in the 
11th century A.D. 

Since the olden days of the Burmese Kings, the Brahmin astrologers have 
annually drawn up Thingyan-sa, a kind of prophetic almanac, on palm 
leaves, in which predictions for the New Year are given. On his annual 
visit, Thagyamin comes and spends the last two (sometimes three) days of 
the old year in the abode of human beings, and the exact moment of his 
departure brings in the New Year. The festival lasts for three days 
(sometimes four), and the day of his arrival is known as the Day of 
Descent, the day of his departure the Day of Ascent, and the day in 
between (sometimes two days in between) the Day of Sojourn. 

In fact, Thagyamin, the King of Celestials, is none other than Sakra. In 
Hinduism he was Indra, the god of the thunder bolt, but he was adopted 
by Buddhism as its guardian-god under the name of Sakra. "The name 
?Thagyamin? means ?the Lord who knows and hears everything?, and a 
twelfth-century fresco depicts him with two pairs of eyes, two pairs of 
ears, and two noses. ?Thagyamin?, of course, may be just a derivative of 
the name Sakra", wrote well-known Burmese scholar Dr. Htin Aung in his 
book Folk Elements in Burmese Buddhism.

"We believe in him (Thagyamin) like people believe in Santa Claus," 
explained Khin Myo Chit, a leading Burmese woman writer of the 
postcolonial era. "He is responsible for seeing that people live in 
accordance with the Buddha?s way. He must see that justice is done; he 
must protect the good and let the bad get their deserts." 

As soon as his downy couch hardens, which acts as a reminder that 
someone down here needs help, Thagyamin is obliged to switch his 
attention to the human abode. In stories and plays, whenever the hero or 
heroine calls for help, he comes down in the form of a human being, a 
type of Good Samaritan. 




However, in the eyes of Theravada Buddhist teachers, all these things 
seem to belong to the realm of myth. "The King of Devas never came down 
to the human abode: that is just something the Brahmins invented," 
Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw, the most famous insight-meditation teacher in 
Burma, stated in one of his discourses, called "Lokadhamma". 

In a lighter and more secular way, Thagyamin frequently falls into the 
hands of Burmese poets and cartoonists?as the object of reproach and 
complaints for his seeming neglect of duties, such as a failure to 
protect good people who are both in deep water and in need of help. 
During the series of crackdowns on pro-democracy activists by the 
Burmese military in the mid 1990s, a famous cartoonist penned a cartoon 
in which Thagyamin is ridiculed by his wives for continually missing the 
target (bad people) with the use of his thunderbolt.

No matter who else believes in the existence of Thagyamin, the Burmese 
generals certainly do. One of the Jataka tales (the stories of Buddha?s 
former lives), recounts how the dynasty of Thagyamins started with the 
story of a man called Magha and his followers who organized good deeds, 
like repairing roads, building bridges and digging wells. Beyond the 
realm of common sense, the Burmese generals also believe that they will 
become Thagyamins or celestials in future lives for similar good deeds 
such as building roads, bridges, satellite townships, dams and repairing 
pagodas, which they have done since they took power in 1988. 

"In government newspapers, you can see articles seriously claiming that 
the Tatmadaw (army) leaders and Tatmadaw men will be reborn in the 
celestial world since they are as noble as Magha (the former life of 
Thagyamin) in their current lives. The military even made a TV movie in 
which the generals compared themselves to Magha," reported a journalist 
in Rangoon. Not surprisingly, the military always try to create their 
own special society within Burmese society at large?not only in terms of 
present privileges but also in terms of the rewards of future lives in 
the cycle of rebirth. "The military alone is doing its best and 
consequently deserves the most fruitful rewards, in spheres ranging from 
politics to spiritual attainment. That is what they believe and what 
they want the people to believe," continued the journalist in a 
sarcastic vein. 

However, the belief in Thagyamin does not stop here. It goes on. In 
Burma, about four months before the Thingyan festival, Thingyan-sa, the 
annual almanac broadsheet, issued by astrologers comes out predicting 
what to expect in the coming year. It tells how Thagyamin will come 
down; his arrival and departure times, the color of his dress, on what 
animal he will be riding; what he will carry in his hands and so on. 
These details indicate the general characteristics of the coming year. 
People foretell the future from the paraphernalia that he carries about 
him. 

 
Water Wars?Behind the festivities, tradition and politics clash 
Thus, when Thagyamin wears a reddish-gold dress, carries in one hand a 
king?s sword and in another a sickle, and rides on the proper vehicle of 
the Sun planet, namely the galon bird, the year will be normal, neither 
very fortunate nor too unfortunate. When he wears a dress of gold, 
carries in one hand a bunch of flowers and in the other hand a pot of 
drinking water, and rides on a bull or a buffalo, the year will be an 
unusually peaceful and prosperous one. When he wears a flaming red 
dress, carries a burning torch in one hand and a spear or a broad sword 
or a battle-axe in the other, and rides on a Naga dragon or ogre, the 
year will be full of bloodshed and disaster. 

Interestingly, on many occasions the predictions have come true. "In 
1999, Thingyan-sa foretold that there would be deaths of celebrities in 
Burma. It turned out to be true. Many actors, actresses, writers and 
other famous people died," explained a well-known astrologer in Rangoon, 
who spoke on condition of anonymity. Prior to that event, the 
predictions of earthquake, flood and so on had frequently become reality 
later on. 

All in all, the frequent occurrence of events predicted by Thingya-sa 
makes the generals in power feel uptight. "They (the military men) are 
very sensitive to what astrologers say," the astrologer explained with a 
confident air. For the year 2001 (1363 in the Burmese Calendar), 
according to the Thingyan-sa, Thagyamin will come down to the human 
abode wearing a bright blue and yellow dress, carrying a flaming 
wooden-torch in one hand and holding his belly with another hand, and 
riding on the ogre on 14 April. "This information indicates that there 
will be rampant disturbances, such as fires, warfare, bloodshed and 
starvation in the coming year. But no one is allowed to make such a 
prediction because of censorship," explained the astrologer.

Before 1886, Thingyan-sa was issued under the authority of the King and 
later on issued by the Guild of Astrologers. But for the last few 
decades, individual astrologers interpret the paraphernalia that 
Thagyamin carries in different ways. "The censorship board scrutinizes 
every version of Thingyan-sa with a heavy hand since the broadsheets 
have a huge influence on the people, especially in rural areas," 
explained the astrologer. 

Any political implication or interpretation of the descent of Thagyamin 
is banned by the censorship board in Burma. In some Thingyan-sa sheets, 
paragraphs were taken out by the censors. Some astrologers who made 
sensitive predictions were called in for investigation and some were 
given strong warnings, and the publishing licenses of some were revoked. 
"In the last couple of years, the varieties of Thingyan-sa have been 
noticeably reduced. You can only find the Thingyan-sa written by 
astrologers who follow whatever the authorities dictate concerning how 
to read the paraphernalia that Thagyamin carries on his descent to the 
human realm. I don?t believe in Thingyan-sa anymore," said Myo Aung of 
Mandalay, whose hobby is studying palm reading and astrology. 

In reality, the most useful part of Thingyan-sa is nothing to do with 
this paranoia of the military. Thingyan-sa could give great help to the 
people who depend on agriculture, which is crucial for a country like 
Burma, a predominantly agrarian society. Since the use of a calendar to 
calculate the best time for rearing animals and planting crops is of 
utmost importance, astrologers interpreting Thingyan-sa have to adjust 
the gap between the lunar calendar?which the Burmese use 
traditionally?and the solar calendar, which is accurate and reliable. 
Thingyan-sa thus used to play a very significant role in making 
predictions in determining the kinds of weather conditions that would 
come, the best time for planting and harvesting and what types of crops 
ought to be grown, during which month, and when and what kind of 
epidemics could hit which part of the country. "Once all these 
predictions were a very useful guide for the farmers and people in rural 
areas. All in all, Thingyan-sa was the cultivators? calendar in Burma," 
explained a well-known historian in Burma who asked to remain anonymous. 


However, the junta introduced the summer paddy program in 1992, in which 
the traditional single rice crop per year, sown in the rainy season and 
reaped in the cool season of October-December, is followed by another 
crop, raised and reaped in the hot season. Since then, like all other 
aspects of the people?s lives, the predictions of Thingyan-sa?which 
serves as the best guide for rural people?have had a topsy-turvy fate. 
"This is nothing less than total control. No one except for military 
men, not even Thagyamin, is allowed to give any guidance to the country. 
It doesn?t matter what consequences follow," Myo Aung said derisively. 

Even though Thagyamin is disregarded in the hands of the military, he 
will have to come down to the human realm on 14 April 2001 for his 
annual visit. As usual, he will bring with him two big volumes, one 
bound in dog-skin parchment, the other in gold. He records in the 
dog-skin book the names of those who have committed misdeeds during the 
course of the year and in the gold book the names of those who have 
performed acts of merit. You can guess whose names will go down on the 
dog-skin parchment, but make sure that your own name is entered into the 
gold volume when Thagyamin writes down his list of good guys. 






________________


The BurmaNet News is an Internet newspaper providing comprehensive 
coverage of news and opinion on Burma  (Myanmar) from around the world.  
If you see something on Burma, you can bring it to our attention by 
emailing it to strider@xxxxxxx

To automatically subscribe to Burma's only free daily newspaper in 
English, send an email to:
burmanet-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

To subscribe to The BurmaNet News in Burmese, send an email to:

burmanetburmese-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx


You can also contact BurmaNet by phone or fax:

Voice mail or fax (US) +1(202) 318-1261
You will be prompted to press 1 for a voice message or 2 to send a fax.  
If you do neither, a fax tone will begin automatically.

Fax (Japan) +81 (3) 4512-8143


________________


Burma News Summaries available by email or the web

There are three Burma news digest services available via either email or 
the web.

Burma News Update
Frequency: Biweekly
Availability: By fax or the web.
Viewable online at http://www.soros.org/burma/burmanewsupdate/index.html
Cost: Free
Published by: Open Society Institute, Burma Project

The Burma Courier 
Frequency: Weekly 
Availability: E-mail, fax or post.  To subscribe or unsubscribe by email 
celsus@xxxxxxxxxxx
Viewable on line at: http://www.egroups.com/group/BurmaCourier
Cost: Free
Note: News sources are cited at the beginning of an article. 
Interpretive comments and background
details are often added.

Burma Today
Frequency: Weekly
Availability: E-mail
Viewable online at http://www.worldviewrights.org/pdburma/today.html
To subscribe, write to pdburma@xxxxxxxxx
Cost: Free
Published by: PD Burma (The International Network of Political Leaders 
Promoting Democracy in Burma)




________________

==^================================================================
EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://igc.topica.com/u/?b1dbSX.b1CGhI
Or send an email To: burmanet-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
This email was sent to: reg.burma@xxxxxxxxxx

T O P I C A  -- Learn More. Surf Less.
Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose.
http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01
==^================================================================